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 Veronica Conti
Field Placement: Logan Square Neighborhood Association (Chicago, IL)
Veronica is creating a wellness council at a local middle school bringing together parents, community members, school staff, and students to improve the health of the middle school community. Veronica is also working to increase participation among middle school students in universal school breakfast programs by evaluating students’ experience with the current program and making recommendations for improvement.
Education and Experience: Veronica graduated with honors in nutritional sciences from Cornell University in 2008. She was a Cornell Commitment Tradition Scholar, volunteered for Habitat for Humanity and Cornell Cooperative Extension, and worked in Nicaragua teaching at a local school and volunteering at a program for pregnant women. She also wrote an honors thesis on body composition techniques, completed a community action fellowship at a county Health Planning Council, and interned at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
 Sofya Leonova
Field Placement: Center for Economic Progress (Chicago, IL)
Sofya is examining the financial strategies used by low-income families to meet their basic needs, and identifying the ways families connect to government programs and social services. She is conducting community listening sessions and in-depth interviews with low-income individuals and service providers, and writing a report assessing the impact of low-income tax credits on low-income communities in Illinois.
Education and Experience: Originally from Russia, Sofya graduated in 2008 with a degree in environmental studies from the University of Chicago. She conducted research on the intersection of environmental, health, and poverty issues at Chicago’s Field Museum, studied conservation and natural resource management in Brazil, and researched the potential for environmental initiatives within Brazil’s agrarian reform settlements.
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